Japan earthquake: Woman in 90s rescued from collapsed home five days after tremor killed 126 people
Adverse weather conditions are hampering the rescue efforts as more than 200 people remain missing and thousands of others wait for aid.
Saturday 6 January 2024 16:37, UK
An elderly woman has been pulled alive from a collapsed house 124 hours after a major earthquake hit Japan.
The trapped resident, who is in her 90s, had survived for more than five days in Suzu city, Ishikawa prefecture, after the 7.6 magnitude tremor struck the country's western coastline on Monday.
Rescue workers covered the scene with blue plastic on Saturday, and the woman was not visible in national TV news footage.
On Thursday, a woman in her 80s was also saved from the ruins of her home. People's chances of surviving quakes often diminish after the first 72 hours.
At least 126 people have now been confirmed dead, 500 were injured, and more than 200 are still missing, as aftershocks threaten to bury homes and block roads.
The earthquake destroyed infrastructure and cut power to 22,000 homes in the Hokuriku region, while more than 30,000 evacuees await aid.
Among the dead is a five-year-old boy, who had been recovering from injuries sustained when boiling water spilled on him during the quake.
His condition suddenly worsened and he died on Friday, according to Ishikawa prefecture, the hardest-hit region.
Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said: "I am keenly aware of the extent of the damage caused."
With rain and snow expected overnight and on Sunday, officials warned roads already cracked by the dozens of tremors continuing to shake the area could collapse completely.
Roofs have been left sitting on roads and everything beneath them crushed flat, while fire turned one neighbourhood in the city of Wajima to ashes.
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Power is gradually being restored along the coast, but water supplies are still short and emergency water systems are also damaged.
Thousands of troops were flying and trucking in water, food and medicine to the thousands who had fled to auditoriums, schools and other facilities.
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The national Yomiuri newspaper reported its aerial study had located more than 100 landslides in the area, and some were blocking lifeline roads.
The number of dead from Monday's earthquake is the highest since a toll of 276 in quakes in 2016 in the southwestern region of Kumamoto - a tally that includes related deaths.
Japan's Self-Defence Forces is set to reinforce the number of rescue staff by 400 to 5,400, with road disruptions among the obstacles hindering the delivery of relief supplies.